Pau, France

Pau is a commune in southwestern France, in the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It is the prefecture (capital) of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department. It is also the capital of 6 cantons in the department: Jurançon, Pau-Centre, Pau-Est, Pau-Nord, Pau-Ouest and Pau-Sud.

Pau
Prefecture and commune
Palais Beaumont in Pau
Coat of arms
Location of Pau
Pau Show map of France Pau Show map of Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Coordinates: 43°18′N 0°22′W
Country	France
Region	Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Department	Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Arrondissement	Pau
Canton	Chief town of 4 cantons
Intercommunality	Pau Pyrénées
Government
• Mayor (2014–2020)	François Bayrou
Area 1	31.51 km2 (12.17 sq mi)
Population  (2013)	77,575
• Density	2,500/km2 (6,400/sq mi)
Demonym	Palois
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	64445 /64000
Elevation	165–245 m (541–804 ft) (avg. 205 m or 673 ft)
Website	www.pau.fr
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Pau is the second city of Aquitaine, after Bordeaux. Pau was also the capital of the old historical province of Béarn.

Geography

Pau is at about 190 km (120 mi) from Bordeaux and from Toulouse, on a 200 m elevation overlooking the valley of a mountain river called the Gave de Pau, and at 100 km (62 mi) from the Atlantic Ocean and at 50 km (31 mi) from the Pyrenees.

It has an area of 31.51 km² (12.17 sq mi) and its average altitude is 205 m (673 ft); at the city hall, the altitude is 210 m (690 ft).^[1]

Pau and its neighboring communes

Pau is surrounded by the communes Buros, Montardon, Morlaàs, Bizanos, Idron, Gelos, Jurançon,Lons and Billère.

Climate

The climate of Pau is Marine West Coast Climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb), with mild winters and warm summers.^[2]

The average temperature for the year in Pau is 13.5 °C (56.3 °F). The warmest month, on average, is July with an average temperature of 20.7 °C (69.3 °F). The coolest month on average is January, with an average temperature of 6.6 °C (43.9 °F).

The average amount of precipitation for the year in Pau is 1,051.6 mm (41.4 in). The month with the most precipitation on average is December with 104.1 mm (4.1 in) of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is February with an average of 73.7 mm (2.9 in).^[2]

Climate data for Uzein (Pau), Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	11 (52)	12.2 (54.0)	15.2 (59.4)	16.8 (62.2)	20.5 (68.9)	23.6 (74.5)	25.8 (78.4)	25.9 (78.6)	23.8 (74.8)	19.8 (67.6)	14.3 (57.7)	11.6 (52.9)	18.4 (65.1)
Daily mean °C (°F)	6.6 (43.9)	7.4 (45.3)	10.0 (50.0)	11.9 (53.4)	15.6 (60.1)	18.7 (65.7)	20.7 (69.3)	20.7 (69.3)	18.2 (64.8)	14.7 (58.5)	9.8 (49.6)	7.2 (45.0)	13.5 (56.2)
Average low °C (°F)	2.1 (35.8)	2.5 (36.5)	4.8 (40.6)	6.9 (44.4)	10.7 (51.3)	13.8 (56.8)	15.5 (59.9)	15.5 (59.9)	12.6 (54.7)	9.6 (49.3)	5.3 (41.5)	2.7 (36.9)	8.5 (47.3)
Average rainfall mm (inches)	84.9 (3.34)	74.7 (2.94)	79.2 (3.12)	73.1 (2.88)	97.9 (3.85)	88.3 (3.48)	86.6 (3.41)	79.1 (3.11)	89 (3.5)	100.4 (3.95)	94.2 (3.71)	103.8 (4.09)	1,051.2 (41.38)
Source: Weatherbase.com

Population

With a population of 77,575,^[3] Pau has a population density of 2,462 inhabitants/km².

The inhabitants of Pau are known, in French, as Palois (women: Paloises).^[4]

Administration

Pau is the prefecture of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department since 1796. It is also the capital of four Cantons:^[5]

1. Pau-1, formed with a part of Pau
2. Pau-2, formed with a part of Pau and the commune Idron
3. Pau-3, formed with a part of Pau and the communes of Bizanos and Mazères-Lezons
4. Pau-4, formed with a part of Pau and the commune Gelos

Gallery

• 
  Parlement de Navarre in Pau
• 
  Palais de justice and Libération square.
• 
  Boulevard d'Aragon, Pau
• 
  Boulevard des Pyrénées

Twin towns

Pau is twinned with:^[6]

Zaragoza, Spain (since 1970) Mobile, Alabama, United States (since 1975) Pistoia, Italy (since 1975) Kōfu, Yamanashi, Japan (since 1977) Setúbal, Portugal (since 1981)

Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom (since 1982) Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany (since 1983) Daloa, Côte d'Ivoire (since 1984) Xi'an, Shaanxi, China (since 1986)

Related pages

• Arrondissement of Pau
• Communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department